Algeria: First Arab Digital Summit “without papers”
The 31st edition of the Arab Summit, which is undergoing major technological changes, kicked off on Tuesday in Algeria, where Algerian officials described it as the “first digital summit” away from the hills of leaves.
Under the presidency of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, the two-day summit will address an agenda that is full of issues and issues.
Among the most prominent issues on the Arab leaders’ table are the Palestinian issue, the Russian-Ukrainian war and its effects on the region, including food and energy security, terrorism and its repercussions in the Middle East, the crises of Syria, Yemen and Libya, Turkish and Iranian interventions in the Arab world, and the climate crisis.
Precedent in the history of Arab summits
Algerian media reported that the director of the Diplomatic Action Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Okba Shabi, confirmed that the 31st summit “is the first without paper, and it is a precedent.”
“The project was finalized and came into effect after Egypt’s experience through the Arab League Secretariat General in meetings at the level of foreign ministers, which were also held without files or papers,” he said.
His country had made important strides in the fields of digitization and information and communication technologies, which had allowed Algeria to provide all the necessary conditions and capabilities so that the first Summit of 2022 would be without papers.
Over the past months, working committees have been formed from various sectors to examine the possibility of embodying the idea, he said, so the project can be finalized and put into effect.
1.5 tons of paper
On the importance of the idea, the Algerian official noted that in previous summits, about one to one and a half tons of paper were used in all previous meetings at the summit level, where at each meeting about 150 copies are distributed to the officials present.
He said the operation was provided with a large amount of paper, printing equipment and human resources, as well as the time and cost required for the operation’s equipment. This prompted us to think about digitizing the summit and holding it without paper.
Regarding the digital alternatives that have been prepared, the Director of the Diplomatic Action Division at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that all the four preparatory meetings that were held were done without paper, and all the software was put to work in full. He noted that high-tech computers were provided to all delegations, including drafts and draft resolutions, as well as delegations can follow any changes. All logistical preparations for the summit were recruited with the aim of preserving natural resources and the possibility of storing and archiving files, as well as conducting electronic signatures.
